The Bird and the Spider
by Britt30
Summary: One day, Otto gets a mysterious message from a mysterious organization offering him a job. All he has to do is meet one of their agents. Shouldn't be a problem. Right?


**I got this idea while reading the stories. Please review! Thanks!  
**

The mysterious letter showed up about a month ago. Otto had been completing an incredibly easy hacking assignment, but something just didn't seem to fit; like an itch that you can't reach. After some rooting around in the depths of the hard drive Otto found what he was looking for. It was an envelope. Otto reached out and grabbed the tiny bit of code and brought it to the surface.

"What's that?" Wing asked.

"I don't know," Otto replied truthfully. "Whatever it is, it's not supposed to be there." He clicked the document and it opened.

_Mister Malpense,_

_My name is Natasha. I am an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. We are an organization similar to G.L.O.V.E, but with some key differences. It has been noticed that your education at H.I.V.E is almost complete. On behalf of our director, I'd like to offer you a paid internship, as soon as you graduate, in our agency. If you are interested, please meet me at the time and place below. _

_Best regards,_

_Natasha Romanoff_

"A job request," said Wing. "That is most unusual." Otto nodded in agreement. Unfortunately, his curiosity was peaked. Wing raised an eyebrow.

"You're going, aren't you." A mischievous smile spread across his face and he nodded again.  
Raven had caught him hacking all of the security panels and cameras the night Otto snuck out.

"Honestly, haven't you learned your lessons about sneaking out..." she muttered angrily as she read the note. Her face went stone still when she finished it.

"Raven?" Otto asked cautiously. "What's the matter?" She shook her head and went back to looking mad and very serious.

"It's nothing. Come on. I'm going with you."  
Otto was surprised by the turn of events, but went along with it. At least now he didn't have to commander a Shroud. They flew most of the night and touched down just as the sky was beginning to lighten. It was a gray, wet day in the suburbs of Washington DC. They exited the Shroud (safely parked behind someone's shed) and walked the few blocks to the meeting spot.

Otto lost track of Raven as they approached the building, but he wasn't worried. She was following him for sure and the less attention she drew, the better.

_An abandoned warehouse. How original. _thought Otto as he stepped inside. However the cheesiness of it all didn't stop a chill running down his spine. He reached out with his mind, but couldn't detect any electronics. Odd.

"Hello?" he called out. His voice echoed eerily off the walls. No one replied, but a lithe figure stepped out of the shadows in front of him.

Otto had to do a double take. Raven had been behind him, hadn't she? So what was she doing in front of him, in different clothes none the less. The woman smiled.

"Hello Mr. Malpense. Glad you could make it." Otto mentally shook himself and focused on the current situation.

"Hi. Who are you?"

"I'm Natasha Romanoff. As you read in the email-" Natasha cut off suddenly and stared intently at the shadows behind him. "I can see you Natalya! You might as well come out!" Raven stepped into the light and tore her mask off angrily.

"Honestly Natasha. Do you have to ruin everything?"

Otto was confused. How could there be two Ravens? No, they were similar, but not identical. Natasha's hair was bright red, in contrast to his white and Raven's black. Raven also had the long scar on her face.

"Nice to see you too, sis." Natasha said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Wait, hold up," Otto interrupted. "Sis?" Raven sighed and gestured at the redhead.

"Otto, meet my twin sister, Natasha. Also known as the Black Widow." She nodded her head at him.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Malpense."

"Hi. Ok, so what is going on?" The sisters sighed and stared intensely at each other for a few moments. Raven put her hands up in surrender.

"Fine. I'll tell it." She turned back to Otto. "Natasha and I are sisters, born and raised in Russia. Well... by raised I mean grew up together and lived off the streets until the Glass House got me and the Russian government found Natasha. Only for a little while though." Natasha then took over the story.

"Nero had heard about me and offered me a place at HIVE. I willingly accepted. Anything that would help me hone my skills. I graduated with honors, went back to the Russians and eventually defected and began to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. We haven't seen each other in what, 6 years?" Natalya nodded.

"That seems about right. After Budapest. And we didn't leave on the best of terms, I recall..."

"Honestly! Does it matter that much to you that I'm not a villain anymore?" Natasha cried.

"Yes, it does! That's been our whole life since we were kids!" Natasha looked at the floor and whispered.

"And maybe that's why I want to do something good for a change. I don't want there to be more kids like us, Natalya! Children shouldn't have to be worried about being picked up off the street and turned into assassins." Raven approached her sister and put a hand on her shoulder.

"That why HIVE gets them first. Sure, some turn into assassins, but others, like Mr. Malpense here, turn into tech whizzes and super villains. We try to help these kids Nat." Otto cleared his throat, breaking up the touching moment.

"Speaking of which, you mentioned a job?" Natalya came back to stand by him and Natasha nodded.

"Right. Your abilities have piqued the interest of our organization. Consider being able to leave the school 'undetected,'" she said with a glare at her sister, "and meeting me here as your primary entrance exam." She handed him a business card. "Give me a call once you've graduated and the job is yours." Both assassins looked at their watches.

"We've got to go," said Raven. "or Nero will start to wonder where I am." Natasha nodded in agreement.

"Me too. Fury's still a bit paranoid after New York. Want to meet up for lunch sometime."

"Sure. Next Tuesday at the usual place."

"See you then," Natasha replied and then turned to Otto. "It's been a pleasure Mr. Malpense."

"Same. Thank you for the offer. I'll definitely consider it." The red head smiled and then headed into the shadows. Raven put a hand on Otto's shoulder and guided him back to the Shroud. Once they took off and were a good five miles above the city Raven had Otto sense for any foreign devices. He found twenty three tracking devices and a few bugs. He disabled them all.

"Good job," Raven said shortly. "S.H.I.E.L.D. would die to know the location of HIVE. Heck, they'd die to have even an inkling of our technology."

"I bet," Otto replied. "I better disable any connections they sent with that message too. How do you think they even planted that?" Raven shrugged.

"You're on first name terms with the President of the United States and S.H.I.E.L.D. has plenty of tech whizzes to figure it out." They flew in silence from then until they got closer to the school.

"Otto?" Raven said. He nodded to let her know he was listening. "Let me make it perfectly clear that under no circumstances are you to inform your friends about this meeting. If you do, I will personally kill you in your sleep. Is that understood?" Otto nodded, even though he was already thinking of ways to tell his friends what had happened. As Raven landed the Shroud she leaned over to him and whispered, "You never know when I'll be watching." Without another word, she left the Shroud in the dark landing base. As Otto returned to his dorm, he caught glimpses of the assassins katanas in the shadows.

_You know, _he thought as he entered his room. _Maybe I should just keep this to myself._**  
****Tada! Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed. :)**


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